A really sweet, good-natured animated film about a surfing penguin that dares to posit that having fun is more important than winning. It's got an original (for animation) mockumentary approach that encourages an amiable improvisational feel to the whole thing, particularly the actors' voice recordings. Reportedly the cast really did record together in the studio, instead of in the usual isolation, just so there could be that kind of comic by-play.
On the other hand, it never really rises from the pleasant and witty to be deeply funny, or moving. And while some of the small story twists, and the structure is novel, the basic characters are pretty stock. Some people have called it a Christopher Guest film in animated form, but for me it lacks the complexity of characters that makes Guest's weird worlds so amazing. None-the-less, I'm glad I saw it, and there's certainly enough for a grown-up to enjoy. I just wished it had blown me away.
On the other hand, it never really rises from the pleasant and witty to be deeply funny, or moving. And while some of the small story twists, and the structure is novel, the basic characters are pretty stock. Some people have called it a Christopher Guest film in animated form, but for me it lacks the complexity of characters that makes Guest's weird worlds so amazing. None-the-less, I'm glad I saw it, and there's certainly enough for a grown-up to enjoy. I just wished it had blown me away.